Patent · US Expired

Hybrid universal broadband telecommunications using small radio cells interconnected by free-space optical links

US6049593A · kind A · utility

90Cited by
15References
34Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 19, 1997
Grant dateApr 11, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 19, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04W36/04
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Diverse communication terminals attach via broadband radio to a communications network at any of typically three hierarchical cell sizes increasing from, typically, a single building to a city to a region. Almost all telecommunications traffic transpires, however, within lowest-level "picocells 1" to and from low cost "base stations 11" that have typically one radio transceiver 111, four optical transceivers 112, an ATM switch 113 and an ATM controller 114. Each local "base station 11" is interconnected to a regional "end office switch 12", where is realized connection to a worldwide wire/fiber line communications backbone 4, upon a multi-hop mesh network 100 via short highly-focused free-space broadband directional optical links 10. By this free-space wireless broadband access the need for new broadband access cabling the "last mile" to subscriber/users is totally surmounted. Subscriber service is of the order of 20 Mb/s peak rate, and 10 Mb/s average rate.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.